chapter twenty: delivery for miss manager
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the squeaking of the shoes and loud voices could be heard from the volleyball gymnasium. everyone on nekoma boys' volleyball team is currently occupied with intense training for the upcoming tokyo prefectural qualifiers.
they were all fired up to get qualified to be one of the representatives of tokyo prefecture for the spring tournament.
the coaches were much stricter when it came to training the boys every day, while their manager kept everything and everyone in check. there would be days when everyone would be on the edge and overworked, but the freshman manager always ensures that they'll have a rest and reminds them of their school work.
"lev, keep your arms firm." she demonstrated to him how to properly position his arms when receiving the ball. "make sure your knees are bent and your feet are apart."
lev was getting personal training with their manager, kiiro. the tall freshman was able to get qualified to be one of the team's regulars, but there are still plenty of areas he should improve.
coach nekomata assigned kiiro to personally train lev for an hour during practice because of her experience and great teaching.
"that hurts!" lev frowned, rubbing his forearms that had turned bright red due to the force of the ball spiked by the manager.
kiiro rolled her eyes at him and scrunched her nose, ignoring his constant complaints. she grabbed another ball from the cart before spiking it to lev, who caught it with underhand.
the ball went flying back to her, and she tossed it towards the net. the middle blocker grinned widely as he realized what was going on. he immediately dashed towards the net and jumped upward as his right hand made contact with the ball, which was spiked on the other side.
"woah, i did amazing, manager-sama!" the light grey-haired boy exclaimed, looking at his mentor with expectant eyes.
"yeah, it was amazing…" she mumbled, eliciting an overjoyed look on lev's face. "that you nearly got tangled in the net," she went on, and the male frowned.
"the ball was near the net, that's why!" lev replied, walking up to her with an upset expression. "but i still managed to spike the ball even though it was almost on the other sid—"
"are you saying that my toss wasn't good?" her eyes flickered at him and a scowl was apparent on her face.
lev placed his fingers on his chin and looked up, humming to himself. "well, you're great at spiking, but you're not just really good with to— ack!" he yelped, rubbing his head that had been hit with a ball.
meanwhile, the other volleyball players in the gym sweatdropped as they watched the freshmen bickering with one another. their voices were booming through the entire place, while the balls were all flying towards the middle blocker running away from the fuming raven-haired girl.
they didn't even try to stop the two because they knew their fight would end sooner if it wasn't stopped by anyone.
suddenly, the metal doors of the gym were opened. everyone inside halted, looking at the usual pink-haired visitor standing by the door with a small box in her hands.
"delivery for miss manager!" reimi announced with a smirk, waving the box in the air.
kiiro dropped the ball that she was about to throw at lev's face and walked up to her friend. her eyebrows were furrowed in confusion as she looked at the box in reimi's hands.
"what's this?" she muttered, poking the box while staring at it as if the box would open by itself under her sharp glare.
reimi chuckled at her friend's action, shaking her head. "it came from the blond from the training camp you told me about," she whispered and leaned closer to her friend, eyeing the curious boys by the court.
"yeah, i know who sent this, but what's inside?" kiiro clarified, looking up at her friend, but the latter only shrugged in response.
"i don't know. i was about to head home when he called me by the gates of the campus and told me to deliver this to you, aka miss manager," reimi explained, and handed the box to the raven-haired girl, to which she gladly accepted.
"is this the milk?" kiiro thought, puffing her cheeks out as she gave the box a small shake, but it merely produced a sound.
"where is he now?" she asked, taking off her gym shoes in the process and putting on her sneakers.
reimi watched her hurriedly change her shoes, smirking to herself as she came up with a hunch. "he's probably on the way to the station by now… or already riding back to miyagi," she replied.
kiiro pushed the box into her friend's hands and directly looked into her baby blue eyes. "protect it," she firmly told her before running off to who knows where.
the pink-haired girl sweatdropped as she watched kiiro dash through the campus swiftly until she was out of sight. bystanders appeared behind reimi, who was intrigued by the strange package for their manager, and their eyes were drawn to the box resting on her hands.
"what happened? what's the package? who sent that package to our manager-sama?" taketora bombarded the freshman with questions.
the 165 cm girl turned to face them with a smile on her face — a threatening smile. "now that kii-chan has excused herself due to an emergency, i'm temporarily in-charge of your practice!" she clasped her hands together, and the boys froze in their spots as she walked past them.
"she's a lot violent than manager-sama!" they screamed in their heads as they watchee the pink-haired girl make herself comfortable while conversing with the coaches on the bench.
the music prodigy also partakes in helping out in their practice, together with kiiro, during her free time when there are no club activities.
the whole sky was painted with the mixture of orange and red hues. the clock was ticking and it had a few minutes until it reached six. the raven-haired girl's short limbs were trying to make long, fast strides to get to the train station on time.
hopefully, to catch up with the blond before he gets on the train by six.
she was climbing up the stairs when she heard the announcement that the train to miyagi was now departing. her almond-shaped eyes widened, rushing to get to the top as if her life depended on whether she got to see tsukishima or not.
"ah, damn it." kiiro glared at the train that had just left the station. her gaze was drawn to her feet, and her hands were resting on her knees, as she caught her breath after the long marathon she had run.
she fixed her composure after her nerves had calmed down and her breathing was stable. "why did i run all the way to here anyway?" she muttered to herself, realizing how much effort she expended.
"you look like you got hit by the train, miss manager."
faster than a bullet train — her head jerked back when she recognized the voice. the six-foot tall blond was standing a few steps away from her, wearing his black tracksuit and his white headphones resting on his neck.
"what the hell are you doing here?" kiiro raised a brow at him, folding her arms together.
tsukishima rolled his eyes at her question. "well, to point out the obvious to you, miss manager, i delivered your precious milk," he sarcastically answered.
her nose scrunched and her eyes squinted at him, clarifying the question for the male. "i know, jerk. you were the only one i made a deal with two weeks ago. what i meant was what are you still doing here when the train has already left?"
the blond walked towards the raven-haired girl and towered over her with his overwhelming height, but the latter didn't falter, as she was obviously used to being looked down at.
"is miss manager concerned about me?" he teased, a smirk playing on his lips.
kiiro scoffed before letting out a chuckle. "having a wide imagination is the result of having no friends, yeah?" she retorted, and it didn't fail to strike his nerve.
"i guess you're rude, after all. i was expecting from miss-know-it-all to speak out her gratitude after receiving a box of milk." he glared at the raven-haired girl, but she only smirked back at him as her response.
tsukishima squinted his eyes on her and scanned her from head to toe and then back to her golden eyes. "where's the box?" he inquired.
"ah, i threw it away because i didn't know you were the one who sent it. i can't open packages from strangers."
after hearing her response, the male felt a squeeze in his chest. his brows furrowed as his gaze shifted away from hers. this strange sensation that tsukishima is experiencing is all new to him, and he doesn't know what he should do with it.
ever since he came across the nekoma's manager, he experienced things that he had never experienced before in his whole life.
kiiro puffed her cheeks before lightly tugging at the hem of his tracksuit. "dude, i'm kidding," she deadpanned, garnering the latter's attention. "i didn't throw it away. i left it to my friend, the one with the pink hair and blue eyes," she explained further.
the raven-haired girl got a bit concerned when the blond suddenly went silent after saying her joke. she thought that he didn't notice the sarcasm laced within her voice and got offended at her joke, so she quickly clarified it to him — which she never does when she jokes around with people.
"hey!" kiiro called out, when the blond walked away and down the stairs. her feet immediately moved on their own, following the male who was already meters away from her.
tsukishima ignored her calls, continuing to walk farther with his long limbs. he wore his headphones and played the playlist on his phone, blocking out any noise from the surroundings.
"matte!" she yelled, still catching up to him. seeing that the latter walking up front wasn't going to bother to slow down, she had no choice but to run faster like what she did awhile ago.
her short limbs were able to bear another marathon and she was already a step away from the blond, positioning her right foot still on the floor as her other leg was raised in the air and swayed it over to hit his arse.
"i said wait for me, bitchshima!" she snarled at him with a glare, watching him stumble forward in his steps after receiving a strong kick.
"what the hell?" he turned to face the girl and walked towards the raven-haired with a scowl.
"i told you to wait for me, but you won't listen. don't blame me for being a bitch," kiiro retorted, looking away from him and folding her arms together.
his eye twitched in annoyance, murmuring profanities under his breath as he tried to keep himself calm. "what do you want?" he sighed, his gaze fixed on the smaller female in front of him.
her lips turned into a small frown and she placed her hands on her hips as she looked back at him. "you're in tokyo, in an unknown place, yet you're strolling around here as if you know your way around. if you get lost or maybe get abducted, i'll be the one to get blamed for it because i'm the last one you were with."
"you're not my mom," he deadpanned.
kiiro raised a brow at him, "i could be your wife though."
"what?"
"what?"
a phone ringing broke the awkward silence lingering between the two teens who were intensely staring at each other.
kiiro was the first one to look away and fished out her phone from her pocket, accepting the call as she turned her back on the blond.
"emi-chan?" she mumbled, scrunching her nose at the loud noises from the other line.
"kii-chan, your brother is going to kill me!" reimi screamed for her life, and it was surely heard by tsukishima standing beside her even if the call wasn't on speaker.
kiiro sighed, hearing her brother's voice overlapping with the others in the background. "tell 'nii-chan i'll be home around seven," she said, aware that her older brother was worried by now.
"sure, but where the heck are you right now though? that blond lanky didn't bring you over to miyagi now, hmm?" and tsukishima clearly heard reimi's question
kiiro snorted as she witnessed the blond get annoyed, but the latter glared at her and she returned a teasing grin to him. "it's the other way around, emi-chan. anyway, cook dinner for 'nii-chan and the rooster head since they'll surely eat instant ramen for dinner." and she ended the call before reimi could even say reply.
she diverted her attention back to tsukishima, who was looking at her with a bored expression written all over his face. "want some taiyaki? my treat," she asked, anticipating his reply.
"whatever," tsukishima mumbled, but the girl took it as a 'yes' and proceeded to lead the way, with him reluctantly following behind.
in the empty streets of the suburbs of tokyo, the crunch of the gravel beneath their shoes could be the only white noise to be heard. the two teens, who aren't even strangers to each other, were walking quite far from one another, and the silence shared between them wasn't suffocating, rather it was comfortable.
their walk to the taikyaki stand near the river didn't take long, and the raven-haired girl didn't waste any time buying two orders of taiyaki.
"here." she handed the taiyaki with strawberry-custard filling to the blond walking beside her now as they walked by the side of the river.
kiiro took a bite of hers, which was the usual taiyaki filling — the red bean paste. her golden orbs admired the birds flying around the orange-yellow sky, marveling at how these creatures move freely and without hindrance.
she was so immersed in her thoughts that she was completely heedless of her surroundings, causing her to trip over the air.
it definitely caught her off guard, and she closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact, but seconds passed and she never made contact with the paved floor.
"watch where you're going."
it was like the cliché scene from romance movies. the way his arm was wrapped around her waist to prevent her from falling on her back, and her hands gripped onto the black fabric he was wearing. they stared at each other with wide eyes, completely stunned by their current position, but neither moved a single limb.
a couple in their thirties happened to pass by and noticed the two teenagers stuck in an awkward position. the female, who was holding onto her lover's arm, giggled at them and looked up to him.
"kids are really something these days, don't you think? i still remember back in our high school days when we were still shy around each other."
the couple's conversation was heard by both kiiro and tsukishima, immediately scrambling away from each other and avoiding one another's gaze as their faces turned bright red.
it was another awkward moment between them, but the raven-haired girl who had caught a glimpse of her taiyaki laying on the floor had disregarded the awkwardness and picked up her no longer edible food.
"my taiyaki." she frowned and stared at the half-eaten dirty taiyaki, brushing off the substances on it.
tsukishima glanced at her, "that's dirty already. throw it away." and the girl pouted even more, not wanting to throw it away.
"i have no money in me!" kiiro whined, making the blond beside her roll his eyes. "this is still okay. i can still ea—"
she was about to continue her sentence when she almost got choked up when the blond stuffed his own taiyaki in her mouth. "such a baby," he grumbled, and started to walk away from her.
nonetheless, kiiro was shocked at his actions. her eyes lingered on his figure as he slowly got farther away from her. with a grin forming on her face and puffed out cheeks, she rushed to his side and lightly nudged the male to tease him, which annoyed the latter and led them to constant teasing of one another while they walked along the paved path beside the river.
"is there a switch on your dark humor? turn it off since it's getting annoying," tsukishima complained, completely fed up with her dark jokes during the past few minutes.
"nope!" kiiro replied, emphasizing the letter 'p' with a smirk etched across her face. "i can also turn on something else though." she wiggled her eyebrows and laughed, earning a half-disbelief and half-annoyed expression from him.
"you're helpless." he sighed and stopped in his tracks, facing the glistening river due to the light reflecting on the surface of the water.
the raven-haired girl stood beside him, placing her hands behind. "but you're hanging out with me," she replied.
silence conquered the air once again as they stared at the view before their eyes while standing close to each other side by side.
it has been three weeks since they met back in the training camp, but the way they could easily talk to each other was so smooth and felt like everything else didn't exist temporarily — like the world only revolves between them.
their silent moment didn't last any longer as it was interrupted by the familiar ringtone of the raven-haired girl's phone.
"tetsurō-san is going to call the police any minute now." was the first thing reimi said when her friend had answered the call.
"to report that i'm missing, yeah?" kiiro deadpanned, hearing a short hum from the other line.
she glanced at the blond who was looking at her before letting out a sigh. "i'll be home in five. keep them restrained." she ended the call before stuffing her phone back in her pocket.
kiiro faced him with a small smile, "i've got to head home, tsukishima-kun."
tsukishima only nodded in response, and the girl bid her farewell afterward, which he acknowledged with another nod.
kiiro then turned her back to leave the place when she felt a hand gripped on her wrist, making her turn her head to face the blond who stopped her.
"tsukishima-kun?" her brows furrowed in confusion, tilting her head to the side, but the latter pursed his lips as he looked away and didn't reply back. "look, i've got to go now since they—"
"kei," he muttered, earning a confused hum from the smaller female. his grip slightly tightened around her wrist as he diverted his gaze back to hers. "call me kei," he repeated.
kiiro blinked multiple times before slowly nodding her head, "oh… uh, sure thing, kei."
when his name rolled out of her tongue, it made him feel the same sensation in his stomach and his lips turned upwards, in which kiiro clearly saw how his face lit up and she didn't know how beautiful his smile was until now, but the next thing that his lips muttered out caused an unexplainable erratic beating of her heart.
"i want to spend more time with you, kiiro."